Liberty can’t get out of their own way in stunning loss to lowly Sky

Angel Reese put one finger over her mouth as she backpedaled away from the free-throw line with 26.4 seconds left to silence the Barclays Center crowd.

Reese and the Sky stunned the Liberty, beating the defending champions 91-85.

The Liberty fell victim to the trap once again.

New York entered Thursday, riding the high of having finally beat the Lynx only two nights prior only to lay an egg against the Sky.

The Liberty had no one to blame but themselves for the frustrating loss.

New York shouldn’t have allowed the game to stay as close as it did for the full 40 minutes.

The Sky trailed by only three points entering the fourth quarter. The final 10 minutes were a donnybrook.

The Liberty tried to turn up the intensity in the fourth, but it was too late. In the end, they were too sloppy and outmuscled, coming up short against a team that had lost five in a row and had the second worst record in the league.

The Sky’s inside attack, led by Kamilla Cardosa and Angel Reese, allowed them to keep pace with the New York.

The Sky outscored the Liberty in the paint 52-26 and out-rebounded them 42-27. Meanwhile, New York shot 37 of its 72 field goal attempts from deep.

Cardosa had 22 points and 15 rebounds, while Reese added 21 points and 10 boards for the Sky.

Jonquel Jones led the Liberty with 25 points.

In the game’s final minute, Sabrina Ionescu fouled out for the first time in her career.

This wasn’t a game the Liberty could necessarily afford to lose with how tight the standings are. New York entered Thursday night tied with the Dream for second place, but in danger of falling to fifth — which would mean no home-court advantage in the playoffs.

The Liberty will have a day to regroup before playing in Atlanta for a big game with playoff implications Saturday.